Finding Your Summit

Welcome back to Finding Your Summit! After a two-year hiatus, host Mark Pattison returns with an incredible conversation featuring legendary football coach Jim Mora, who recently made the leap from UConn to become the new head coach at Colorado State University.

This episode marks a special full-circle moment as Jim was Mark's very first podcast guest on Episode 1, and now returns for Episode 276. The two former teammates dive deep into the art of building winning cultures from the ground up, drawing from Jim's remarkable track record of turning around struggling programs.

Jim shares the incredible journey of transforming a program that won just six games in five years into a powerhouse that achieved back-to-back nine-win seasons for the first time in the school's 120+ year history. Learn how he walked into a "walking dead atmosphere" and created a winning mindset.

Discover the three core messages that drive Jim's coaching philosophy:

• Actions over words

• Discipline over feelings

• DNA - who you are and how you reinforce it daily

Jim explains why keeping messaging tight and clear is essential, and how the culture you create drops to the lowest common denominator of what you allow.

Both Mark and Jim share powerful examples of loving the process and embracing hard things - from Mark's Mount Everest summit attempt at 26,500 feet to Jim's team executing over 800 two-minute drills in preparation for crucial game situations. Competitive greatness means being at your best when your best is needed.

Learn why support must equal demands, why team ego must supersede individual ego, and how brutal honesty creates the foundation for championship teams. Jim shares insights from coaching 54 Pro Football Hall of Fame members and what he learned from legends like Ronnie Lott and Morten Andersen.

Jim opens up about his newest challenge - taking over a 2-10 program at Colorado State and building from scratch. He discusses navigating the transfer portal, retaining the right staff members, and identifying which players fit the culture he's building.

This episode is packed with actionable leadership lessons applicable far beyond football - perfect for CEOs, business leaders, and anyone looking to create winning cultures in their organizations. As Jim says, "There is no finish line" - champions constantly seek the next challenge.

For more information, visit www.MarkPattersonNFL.com and check out Mark's new book Finding Your Summit, detailing his epic Mount Everest journey, NFL career, and the lessons learned along the way.

Adrian Ballinger is a British-American certified IFMGA/AMGA mountain guide, certified through the American Mountain Guides Association and a sponsored climber and skier.

Ballinger is the founder and CEO of Alpenglow Expeditions, and has been guiding full-time for 25 years. He has led over 150 international climbing expeditions on six continents, and made 18 successful summits of 8,000m peaks. He is known for pioneering the use of pre-acclimatization for commercial expeditions as early as 2012, which can cut the amount of time typically spent on an expedition in half.

Adrian is the only American to have made three successful ski descents of 8,000m peaks, including the first ski descent of Manaslu from its summit. He is also the fourth American to have summited both Mount Everest and K2 without the use of supplemental oxygen.

Kelly Lynn Adams is a life coach who has gone through her own transformation. She is very talented and can help others make the necessary pivot needed when fear holds you back. Great episode to kick off the year and help you achieve your goals.

I met Kenton Cool on Mt EVEREST in 2021. He is an amazing and talented Englishman who has scaled MT EVEREST 14 times with no end in sight. He guides clients all over the world and had scaled most of the major peaks out there. This is a super engaging conversation w/ Kenton on where he has been, his philosphy on life and where he's going in the future.

Shane Jacobson is the CEO of the V Foundation which was started by Jim Valvano and ESPN in 1993. Jim V is a former coach who had won a national championship for NC State and later became a broadcaster on ESPN calling basketball games. He got a brain tumor and in his last speech, echoed those words, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up.”

Today, Shane is carrying on his legacy to raise money and awareness to eventually defeat all forms of cancer. Shane talks about how they are doing this and his association with Dick Vitale.

Yuriy Boyechko is the CEO and President of Hope for Ukraine. It's a non-profit, set up to help all the people of that country who have been displaced with food, water, clothing and shelter. We had a great chat talking about their mission, challenges and where the war is going. Tune in...

Shawn Richardson went through a bumpy road a few years ago and was left with, where do I go from here? The mountains came calling and she has now turned her passion into a career while reaping the benefits of being in the outdoors and helping to solve various mental health issues. You never know when failures can turn into opportunities. Go Shawn go...

This podcast was a wonderful opportunity to speak with film director, Nancy Svendsen, about her 10-year passion project covering the remarkable life of Pasang, a Nepalese climber. She documents the obstacles Pasang had to overcome to climb Mount Everest and become the first Nepalese woman to climb the highest mountain in the world. Fascinating chat learning what she lived for—and ultimately died for.

The U Conn football team went 4-44 the last 4 years prior to Jim Mora showing up. He turned the football team in 2022 going 6-6 and being selected to play in a bowl game against Marshall. How do you change the mindset of young men who only know whats its like to lose? Listen to Jim Mora on how get got his players to believe and buy in to have a championship mindset. Amazing turnaround...

Nate Boyer is an incredible American. He served in the Green Berets for 8 years, then decided to go to college at the University of Texas and then walked on the football team where he was the starting long snapper. Although he got a quick workout with the Seahawks, he has gone onto greater things.  
He spent two years on a passion project creating MVP, the Movie. It reflects what he has done for athletes and ex military vets who are looking for true meaning and purpose after they are done either playing or serving. It's a great film.